Last year the Texas Legislature established the Texas Commission on Public School Finance to develop and make recommendations for improvements to the current public school finance system or for new methods of financing public schools. Later this year the commission will prepare and deliver a report to the governor and the legislature that recommends statutory changes to improve the public school finance system.

For those wishing to provide input to the commission for its next meeting on March 19, you can send a message to their schoolfinancecommission@tea.texas.gov e-mail address.

The Salado Independent School District received a rating of “A” for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability Rating system. The “Superior Achievement” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of our school district’s financial management and reporting system.

Texas school funding is $2,550 per student less than national average

The Texas school finance system is both inadequate and inequitable. Funding in Texas is $2,550 per student below the national average each year. An additional $2,550 per student would equate to over an additional $4.7 million per year for our district based on our current enrollment of 1,856 students. Texas is ranked #47 out of the 50 states in per student funding.

Salado ISD Trustees have proposed cutting the tax rate by more than five cents from the current $1.2755 to $1.2238 for the 2016-17 school year, counting on student enrollment growth of just over eight percent, and growth in the property values.